Braaaains
by vcg73
Summary: Rachel is alone as night falls on Halloween.  Or, is she?


I originally wrote this for a different fandom (If you happen to be a Mag7 fan, you'll recognize it.) but I thought it would be fun to adapt to a Glee Halloween. Just for once, I decided to make Rachel the feature character instead of Kurt. Maybe I just want her to be attacked by zombies...

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"_Braaaains_ . . ."

Rachel Berry looked up from the sheet music she was studying, a frown creasing her brow. What had she heard? She waited a moment, looking about herself carefully in an attempt to determine the potential presence of joking fellow students.

Nothing. The others glee kids had all gone home to get ready for the Halloween party Mercedes had invited them to. She would go to the party herself later, but first she wanted to finish sectioning out the new number she wanted to present to Mr. Schuester on Monday. After all, Sectionals were in just a few weeks. Holiday celebrations could wait.

Shaking her head at the silence, Rachel went back to work. She must have imagined it. Finn had been chiding her about working too hard just this morning. Apparently he was right!

A few more minutes passed by and she heard it again; a low gravel-throated whisper of a word, barely audible even in the quiet office.

"_Braaaains_. . ."

Standing abruptly from her seat, the chair skidding backward and hitting the wall hard enough to make her jump at the noise, she demanded, "Who's there? Come out where I can see you!"

Abruptly, Rachel got her wish. From the area of the break-room, a tall figure shambled forth, his gait too unbalanced to be properly called a walk.

"Finn?" the young woman asked again, hesitation in her voice as she surveyed the misshapen, grayish-complected figure. It was definitely Finn Hudson, but he looked as if he'd been in some horrifying accident. There was blood everywhere on his skin and clothing. Patches of hair had been torn from his scalp in ragged clumps, and some of it was still dangling from strips of skin that hung loosely from his head, neck and hands, allowing the decaying flesh underneath to be seen clearly. Rachel's nose wrinkled as her boyfriend came closer, the impression of dead and putrescent flesh growing stronger as he caught a whiff. "Finn, this isn't funny! In fact, it's disgusting!"

"_Braaaains_ . . ." the ghoul hissed, a terrible smile of anticipation peeling his cracked lips back from yellowed teeth.

Unable to stop herself, Rachel backed up and raised her hands in a warding-off gesture as the creature reached out to touch her.

"Now Finn, I think this has gone just about far enough," she said sternly, trying to pretend there was no audible tremble in her voice.

A large hand came down upon Rachel's shoulder from behind and she screamed before she could stop herself, spinning around to face a new presence. She breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that it was, "Mike!"

The smile fell as her friend moved further into the light and showed that he looked every bit as gruesome as Finn. More so, in fact. His throat almost appeared to have been _ripped out_. The flesh was shredded and blood-soaked, bloody tendons and a disgusting display of exposed bone showing through the tattered flesh. Rachel's eyes bulged as he saw that one of the boy's lively brown eyes had been pulled from its socket, hanging in a gelatinous ball on his cheek and leaving the socket empty.

Not wanting to believe what she was seeing, Rachel repeated another, far more tentative, "Mike?"

The creature gurgled, a horrifying sound, and her heart thundered as he realized that he could actually see blood bubbling in the torn flesh of his ruined throat as he attempted to speak.

"No!" she squeaked, tripping over the leg of a music stand as the nightmare versions of both her friends simultaneously made a grab for her.

Scrambling backward in a terrified crab-walk, Rachel looked around frantically for an escape route. The music-room door seemed impossibly far away.

Even as she thought it, the knob turned and the door swung open, revealing Kurt Hummel, whose normally fair complexion had lightened to such an extreme bluish-white pallor that Rachel just knew there could not possibly be any blood left in him.

As her eyes traveled over the new arrival, Rachel gulped hard. She had thought for a moment that Kurt was attired in a dark red suit, but as he moved into the room, she realized that she had found the missing blood. It had completely soaked the light colored material of Kurt's fashionable sweater and slacks ensemble, staining it crimson.

Tattered threads decorated the chest area and as he lurched stiffly forward, Kurt's movement revealed a large hole in his chest. Rachel whimpered when she realized that she could see the wall on the other side. The hole had gone clean through Kurt's body.

"_Braaains_ . . ." the boy hissed, the word somehow sounding even more menacing when spoken in that cold, rough voice that was normally so full of natural music.

"Y-y-you guys, don't do this!" Rachel stammered, using the wall as leverage to get back up to her feet, thankful for its solid presence behind her. "You don't want to hurt me. I don't know what's happened to you, but I'm your friend! Remember? I'll think of a way to fix this!"

Inside her private thoughts, Rachel figuratively slapped herself. Sure guys, I'll just write up a nice mashup to perform for you that will bring the living dead back to perfect health!

"Or, or, or . . . Mr. Shue! Yeah, that's it. We'll all go and find Mr. Schuester and he'll figure something to do for all of you!"

Rachel's brown eyes grew huge, her fear increasing exponentially when she managed to stumble out into the hallway and Kurt suddenly smiled at her, his bloodshot blue eyes filled with an unholy light as he pointed toward the classroom to Rachel's left and whispered again, "_Braaains_."

Not wanting to see, but too afraid _not_ to look, Rachel turned, moaning when she realized that both Puck and Mercedes were standing in the doorway, each looking about as fresh as a week old banana peel.

Mercedes's skin was a peculiar shade of greenish gray and there were yellow-seeping pustules dotted around her cracked black lips. Her normally healthy white teeth were broken and yellowed, much like Finn's had been, and both her gums and the whites of her eyes were blood-flecked. Unlike her other companions, she did not speak a desire for Rachel's brain but the lust-filled madness in her eyes was somehow even worse.

Rachel stared at her fellow diva, barely able to even look at Noah Puckerman. The normally handsome teen appeared to have been burned alive. His Mohawk had been burned away and the flesh covering his scalp, face, neck and body on the right sight was charred and ruined, lumps of bubbled tissue and bodily fluids still dripping from exposed bone. The stench he exuded was stomach-churning and Rachel had to clap a hand over her mouth as the dead jock held out a flesh-free hand, mere inches from her face, the revealed bones clicking audibly as they stretched in a slow grasping motion.

Hungrily, he groaned, "_Braaains_ . . . "

Rachel's breathing grew harsh and ragged, her heart doing its best to thump straight out of her chest as she ducked under that reaching hand and dove between Mike and Mercedes, stumbling and nearly falling in her haste to reach the sanctuary of the principal's office. It had an outer office and two lockable doors and while that might not be enough to keep the others away for long, it would give her a few minutes of sanctuary in which to call for help.

She would call Will Schuester, convince him somehow of the terrible fate that had befallen his students. Surely Shue would help her!

A voice greeted Rachel as she dove into the office and slammed the door, locking it behind her. Seized with a sudden horror of being alone in the dark, Rachel fumbled the light switch on and looked around. Will Schuester sat at Principal Figgins' desk. His flesh was intact, his color was good, and everything appeared to be exactly where it ought to be.

"Mr. Schuester! Oh, thank God you're here. You're not going to believe what's happened to the glee club! Our team, our _friends_! They're all _dead_, or, I guess I should say _un_dead since they're all moving around of their own volition even though they really shouldn't be at this point. They've all been turned into . . ."

She couldn't say it.

"Zombies?" Will asked calmly, standing and casually rounding the desk to face Rachel. His smile was calm and pleasant, amused even.

"Exactly!"

As her eyes adjusted to the bright light in the office, Rachel frowned. Shue had been wearing jeans, a white shirt and a brown sport-coat when he left practice earlier. Now he was attired in a finely tailored black suit that fairly reeked of wealth, and matching highly-polished black shoes. His perfectly tied silk tie and matching pocket handkerchief were also unrelieved black, the tie held in place by an onyx and silver clip, the tiny gleam of metal providing the only trace of color to be seen. Even his hair and eyes seemed much darker and completely free of luster.

His appearance was so incongruous with the typically casual Spanish teacher that Rachel momentarily forgot her fear and blurted, "What are you all dressed up for?"

The calm smile never leaving his face, Will ignored the question and reached out to open his office door, ignoring Rachel's yelp of warning.

The slavering undead, who had been scratching and thumping at the closed door, poured into the small space. Five sets of eyes stared intently at Rachel, making her flesh crawl. She backed into the cold office window, whimpering when she realized that there was no escape.

The zombies had stopped behind Will, almost appearing as if they were waiting for him to give them permission to advance. The man in black eyed Rachel dispassionately. "You see, Rachel, I can always use another soul for my collection and my friends here deserve a chance to feed."

Desperately, Rachel climbed up on the window-sill, shoving against the window to try and force it open. It finally gave with a squeal of protest but unfortunately, Figgins' office was on the third floor of the school and the ground looked unsettlingly far away.

"Stay back! I'll jump if you come any closer!" she threatened anyway.

To her dismay, the zombies only leered and Schuester actually laughed. "Do it if you feel the need. It will change nothing. Do you really think none of the others attempted to escape?" He gestured at the others, stroking Puck's burnt cheek and peeling away a bit of the charred flesh. He dusted the remnant from his fingers with casual disregard. "They tried, and they failed. You see, Rachel, you're already mine. You gave yourself to me and there is no escape."

"Gave . . . what are you talking about?"

Will smiled again. "It was all there, in the student contracts you signed when you rejoined my New Directions this fall." Shaking his head, he mourned, "Nobody ever reads the fine print. You were determined to become one of the greatest musical forces in the state. In the country, even. To be part of an unbeatable team . . . that's what you wanted, wasn't it?"

Rachel's pale face lost even more color. "After we lost to Vocal Adrenaline last year, I wished for all of that. I said I'd give anything for them."

"To be precise," Will corrected, holding up one index finger. "You said you'd give your _soul_ for those things."

"My . . . my soul?" Rachel whispered, cold sweeping over her.

"Honestly, I believed that Vocal Adrenaline took the prize when it came to self involvement and the willingness to do anything to win, but even they never went that far. Truly impressive." Will glanced to his left and right, the amusement gleaming once more in his eyes. "Amazing how common a dream it is . . . a place to belong, people to care about you . . . and how easily fools will give away their most precious possession to have it."

"But we didn't know! It's just an expression!"

"An expression?" Striding forward, his hand shot out faster than Rachel could see, dragging her down from the window with super-human strength and setting her gently upon the floor. His expression turned hard and cold. "Perhaps you should pay more attention to how you express yourself in the future."

Rachel's face became pleading, hopeful. "Do I still _have_ a future?"

Will blinked, as if in surprise. He cocked his head thoughtfully. "Good point." Shoving the young girl forward into the eagerly reaching arms of the zombie horde, he added, "I picked this one for her talent, guys. Try to savor the experience."

As the hungry undead pushed her to the floor, eager hands and mouths ripping and tearing at her flesh, Rachel screamed, a long anguished wail that seemed as if it would never end.

Will drew a deep breath, shutting his eyes and smiling as if he were hearing a chord of sweetest music.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

Rachel sat up so abruptly that she fell right out of her chair.

"Easy, Rach, it's just me!"

"Finn?" she squeaked, scuttling back to stare up with wild eyes as her boyfriend leaned over in an attempt to help her up. "Is it really you?"

Finn frowned, confused. "Who else would it be?"

Rachel studied him. No blood, no rotting flesh, no undead odor. She still wasn't quite ready to believe her eyes, however. "What are you doing here?"

"I came back to check on you," he said, squatting down to be at eye level. "When you never showed up at Mercedes' party, I got worried. I checked with all the others, but none of them had seen you either. You weren't answering your phone, and it's kind of late so we came back here to take a look."

"We?"

A throat cleared, and she looked up with a gasp as she noticed the rest of her chorus mates standing behind Finn. There was a mixture of amusement and outright concern on their faces. They, too, looked completely normal.

"I realize it's a bit much for all of us to be playing mother hen at midnight on a Friday," Kurt said with a smile, "but we were worried." He shrugged, pretending not to be embarrassed by that admission.

Rachel heaved a huge sigh of relief, hugging Finn tightly around the neck as he helped her up. She hugged Kurt as well, much to his discomfort. She happily allowed Mercedes and Tina to brush her off and give her a quick once-over, happy with their concern and reassured by the normalcy of their behavior.

"I fell asleep, I guess. I had the most horrible nightmare ever!"

"What about?" Artie asked, his interest piqued.

Embarrassed, she admitted, "Well, you were all trying to kill me."

"What?" they bellowed, making her jump nervously.

"Sorry," Kurt said, patting her arm in a soothing gesture. "I won't say the thought of bodily harm has never crossed our minds during your more diva-tastic episodes, but even on your worst day we never considered homicide."

Mercedes interjected, "Not seriously, anyway."

She laughed, a bit shakily. "It's ridiculous but it seemed very real at the time." Another, stronger laugh followed. "At least you all look a lot better now! You were pretty scary in that dream."

"Like how?" Puck asked, looking amused at the idea of himself as a scary, bad-ass, diva killer.

Blushing hotly, Rachel confessed, "Well, you were all, uh . . . "

"All what?" Tina pressed, eyes alight with interest.

"Zombies," she blurted quickly, flinching in anticipation of their reaction.

They looked at one another, incredulous expressions giving way to grins as all of them burst into hearty laughter. Mike held out his arms and did a Frankenstein monster-walk, swiping one hand at Rachel. "I vant to suck your blooood."

"She said zombies, not vampires," Mercedes scolded, still chuckling.

"They don't like blood?"

Artie considered the question. "They always appear to have lost a lot of it in horror movies, so maybe they do, but their main diet is consistent of brain matter."

"Brains?" Kurt said incredulously. He never could be persuaded to join the others when they gathered to watch horror films.

Rachel could not help herself. She shuddered from head to toe at that word.

Mercedes was instantly in doctor-mode. "You okay, honey? You got a chill?"

"Little one," she said, preferring that excuse to admitting the real reason for her reaction. "I was feeling a bit feverish earlier."

"Must be the reason you thought we'd all joined the undead."

Rachel jumped at hearing that voice. "Mr. Shue! I didn't realize you were here."

"The kids called me when you didn't show up at the party. None of them has a key to get back inside the building. Once I heard you'd gone missing, I volunteered to help them search," he explained, giving her a penetrating stare that expressed his concern clearly.

Rachel nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Shue."

"I think we'd better get you home before you start imagining we're all aliens next," Finn chided, gently leading his girlfriend toward the exit while the others grabbed Rachel's coat and backpack and gathered up her abandoned sheet music.

As they moved out toward the staircase, Rachel looked back again to Will. "Is there any fine print in my student contract?"

Will looked puzzled. "Why would there be?"

Shaking her head, Rachel waved off the question. "Never mind. It was just something silly that popped into my head."

The choir-director's features settled into a small grin as he watched the others troop down the long staircase ahead of him. "Nobody ever reads fine print anyway," he murmured, eyes flashing darkly as he got in line and began the journey downward.

The End


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